Wow…two months this time! How pitiful is that? I guess I’ll keep plugging away at it and maybe someday I can become a real blogger! 🙂

Anyhow, today I was cleaning out my e-mail box in preparation to send invites for articles in upcoming issues and also doing some editorial calendar planning for 2013. I came across an e-mail I had saved, always intending to do something with it. Okay…it’s from two years ago! And, yes…I realize it’s pretty pathetic that I hung onto it that long, but it’s good stuff! So I’m sharing it with you here today.

The e-mail is about a “new” book titled Grassland: Quietness and Strength for a New American Revolution. It came with a press release; here is an excerpt from the information provided to me:

“Grassland: Quietness and Strength for a New American Agriculture was written to increase our awareness of the vital role grass and grassland plants have in ensuring a sustainable future for American agriculture.

Published by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, the book’s content is geared toward agriculturists, students, the public, and policy makers.”

“Wendell Berry, a farmer and renowned author of more than forty books and essays about culture and agriculture, provides a moving foreword for the book that stresses the importance of properly educating future farmers about the land and the roles of grasslands.

“True farmers have minds that are complex and responsible,” writes Berry. “They understand and honor their debts to nature. They understand and honor their obligations to neighbors and consumers. They understand and respect the land’s need to be protected from washing. . . . In the time that is coming, we are going to need many more such farmers than we have, and we will need them much sooner than we can expect to get them. We will get them only to the extent that young people come along who are willing to fit their farming to the nature of their farms and their home landscapes, and who recognize the paramount importance of grass and grazing animals to good farming everywhere.””

Reading it really got me thinking about the future of agriculture and how our native grasslands might fit into that picture. Mr. Berry is correct…we will certainly need more farmers than we currently have to be able to continue to feed our population. But with the declining numbers of producers and difficulty of funding operations, where will agriculture be in 5 years? 10 years? 25?

The unusual weather and early season pest problems of this year also point out some of the difficulties associated with ag operations. It’s tough…no matter how you look at it! And how many of our current producers can afford to stay in business?

How do grasslands fit into the future of agriculture? As the press release also states, grass is “essential resource” to our continued sustainability. We need to learn more about how to protect and preserve our crop land as we operate our farms and ranches. Perhaps it’s not just doing things the way we’ve always done them, but learning more about how to not only be profitable but also to do what needs to be done to make sure the land is available for use now and for future generations.

What do you think? Where do you see the future of agriculture?

Oh…if you’re interested in ordering the book,  Grassland: Quietness and Strength for a New American Agriculture can be purchased online through ASA-CSSA-SSSA for $80, Item No. B40722 at: www.societystore.org, by phone at 608-268-4960, or by email: books@agronomy.org